Heart of Louisiana: Scott, LA - Where Boudin is King!

2017-06-30T00:51:11Z2017-06-30T00:51:11Z

Written by: Dave McNamara, Heart of Louisiana

Source: Don's Specialty Meats website

(WVUE) -

The city of Scott grew up around the railroad. It’s where the east line stopped and the west line began. It’s also a place that celebrates its deep Cajun roots with weekly jam sessions on the porch of an old Acadian-style house, and where the Cajun sausage known as boudin is king.

By an act of the state Legislature, Scott is the Boudin Capital of the World.

“Scott probably sells the most boudin around in the state of Louisiana,” said Jimmy Guidry.

Guidry oversees the boudin production at Don’s Specialty Meats. He says he grew up helping his dad and grandfather make boudin, when families would get together and feast on a hog.

“They used to make boucheries back in the day, and they used everything on the hog,” Guidry said. “I mean, everything was good. We’re about to pull the boudin up. It’s been boiling for an hour and a half. From there, we take it and we bring it to the meat grinder and we grind it in 50 pound batches. The rice and the meat and all the spices are combined together with the stock, which is a special stock. I think we have a great, great product.

There is no motorized mixing. Guidry says it needs to be done by hand.

“That way we can feel the texture and make sure that our texture is right,” he said.

When the mix is right, the blend of meat, spices and rice is put in the stuffer. At first, they slowed it down so we could get a good look at how the sausage is packed into the artificial casing.

“And every link he’s shooting is approximately a pound,” Guidry said.

Then, the stuffing is turned up to regular speed.

“I want to think that I probably have the best boudin,” Guidry said. “I mean, I have a lot more meat in my boudin to where you can actually eat meat.”

So how much boudin are they making here at Don’s? They say that on an average day, they'll crank out 2,000 pounds of the Cajun sausage. The customers come from all over the country. And if they can’t stop by, Don’s will ship 5-pound boxes of boudin.

“I think people want to learn the Cajun culture, and that's part of the Cajun culture is cracklings and boudin.